self-ruling

adjective

ˌself-ˈrü-liŋ How to pronounce self-ruling (audio)
Definition of self-rulingnext
1
as in democratic
of, relating to, or favoring political democracy having rid itself of the yoke of colonialism, the new nation chose to be a self-ruling state

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in independent
not being under the rule or control of another was granted special status as a self-ruling province

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of self-ruling But the real change might be in East Asia, where Kim’s belligerence and rising fears regarding China’s designs on self-ruling Taiwan had already reenergized the nuclear debate. — Charlie Campbell, Time, 28 Mar. 2026 Like Assad before him, Sharaa now faces complex negotiations toward bringing these self-ruling territories under his command. — Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025 In recent years, Beijing has ramped up economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan – a self-ruling democracy the Chinese Communist Party claims as its own despite having never governed it. — Eric Cheung, CNN, 13 Mar. 2023 In a meeting earlier with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Raisi expressed support for China's crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and claim to self-ruling democratic Taiwan. — Bradford Betz, Fox News, 17 Feb. 2023 See All Example Sentences for self-ruling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-ruling
  1. democratic
  2. independent
  3. autonomous
  4. sovereign
  5. separate
Adjective
  • Ahead of a challenging midterm election, Republicans have seized an opportunity to castigate their opponents as extremists after democratic socialists won recent Democratic congressional primaries in New York and Colorado.
    — Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 11 July 2026
  • This is a nonprofit with a mission to strengthen American democracy with better civic participation and support of democratic institutions.
    — John Werner, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
Definition of democratic
Adjective
  • Actor and producer Tyler Perry is helping pay for Wells' funeral, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is helping pay for his independent autopsy, and filmmaker Spike Lee showed up to the news conference to show support for Wells' family.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 July 2026
  • The New York City Department of Investigation is the city’s independent watchdog agency, which investigates fraud, corruption, misconduct, municipal malfeasance, city employees, contractors, and individuals who do business with the city.
    — Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
Definition of independent
Adjective
  • United Therapeutics’ subsidiary, Unither Bioelectronics, has worked with BETA on areas including autonomous flight technologies, aircraft design, and charging infrastructure deployment.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 11 July 2026
  • JadePuffer shows that while fully autonomous AI hackers have not yet arrived, agentic AI is starting to automate the grunt work of ransomware.
    — Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
Definition of autonomous
Adjective
  • Ottawa has flagged space launches as a key sovereign capability in its new defense industrial strategy.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 10 July 2026
  • The protesters named their encampment the Cascadia Free State, a sovereign enclave whose citizens pledged obedience to the transcendent laws of the cosmos.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
Definition of sovereign
Adjective
  • Instead of promoting their efforts, Republican lawmakers were left scrambling when the president abruptly withdrew his support over a separate political fight.
    — Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
  • In 2026, the agency is again incentivizing participants with cash — there are separate categories for novices and professionals, each with their own prizes.
    — Sarah Perkel, USA Today, 10 July 2026
Definition of separate

Browse Nearby Words

self-rule
self-ruling
self-sacrifice
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Cite this Entry

“Self-ruling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-ruling. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

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